Soil conditioning product and process

ABSTRACT

A method of conditioning soil and an organic soil conditioner particularly useful in treating athletic fields derived by drying and grinding plants from the Plantago family. The soil conditioner is applied to the surface of tilled soil and thereafter worked into the soil, deep-watered, allowed to dry and packed. Time-released fertilizer may be included in the soil conditioner if desired.

The present invention relates to a soil conditioner and moreparticularly relates to a soil conditioner for stabilizing the soil andenhancing the water absorption and retention characteristics of thesoil.

The problems of conditioning and stabilizing soils are particularlyimportant in the maintenance of athletic fields. In order for athleticfields to be acceptable for use, the soil must be firm, not subject toblowing or washing away of the surface, and must have good moistureabsorption and retention characteristics. Soil that will not quicklyabsorb and disburse water is a particular problem as fields unplayableas a result of standing water can result in delay of games causingscheduling problems, financial burdens and fan and playerdisgruntlement. Accordingly, various products and soil treatmentprocesses involving organic components are available in the prior art.

The prior art suggests various approaches to the problem of conditioningsoils. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,609 teaches a method of impedingsoil errosion by depositing a cover of hydrophilic cellulose fibers onthe soil which have a high water retention characteristic.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,658,824 deals with the production of soil treatingagents and with the conditioning of depleted soils by fermentingextracts of various desert plants which extract is applied to the soil.The use of organic materials is also suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos.2,957,834 and 3,017,720. The former patent suggests a method ofstabilizing soil against errosion which comprises dispersing a coldswelling starch which is derived from various natural starches such aspotato starch, corn starch, wheat starch and the like on the surface ofthe soil. The latter patent suggests forming an aqueous slurryconsisting essentially of cellulose pulp fibers as a mat over the soil.

Still another approach to providing an agricultural process for groundcover involves spreading a mixture of the mucilage of the plantago seedwith mulch, fertilizer, seed and water on the surface of the soil. SeeU.S. Pat. No. 3,696,559. This patent has been commercially exploitedprimarily as a means of providing ground cover along highwayright-of-way areas.

While various prior art methods and products, including the foregoing,have met with some success in the prior art they generally relate tomethods involving an organic product for conditioning the soil and forpromoting growth of ground cover and have not worked particularly wellin the area of athletic fields. As pointed out above, the absorption anddispersion of water is a particular problem in the treatment of playingfields. Further, any soil conditioner for athletic fields must provide aplaying surface that is adequately firm and errosion resistant.

Briefly, the present invention provides an improved soil conditioner forathletic fields. The method according to the present invention involvesharvesting the entire seed and part of a plant from the Plantago family.The harvested seed and plant parts are dried and thereafter ground toflour-like consistency to form a soil conditioning agent. The area to betreated is tilled and the conditioner is spread over the surface to adepth of about two to four inches. Thereafter, the soil conditioner isworked into the soil and deep-watered and allowed to dry. The surface isthen compacted by rolling or similar method. A time-release fertilizermay be included with the soil conditioner if groundcover or turf is tobe planted on the soil surface.

A more complete understanding of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, claims and drawings in which:

The drawing figure illustrates in diagram form the method of preparingthe soil conditioner and treating soil according to the presentinvention.

In the practice of the present invention, the soil conditioner is firstprepared. The soil conditioner is prepared by first harvesting herbsfrom the Plantain family (Plantaginaceae). The Plantain family is alsodescribed as Plantago and is sometimes known as Indian-Wheat. The plantis described as a generally scapose herb with the foliage leaves allbasal; flowers small, perfect or unisexual, regular, in terminal,long-peduncled, bracted spikes; calyx and corolla 4-divided or 4-lobed,persistent, usually scarious or scariuos-margined; stamens 2 or 4,distinct, attached to the corolla tube; style filiform, stigmatic mostof its length; ovary superior, 2- to 4-celled; fruit a circumscissile,usually few-seeded capsule. See Arizona Flora, by Kearny and Peebles(1951 with Supplement 1960).

There are various species to the plantain family and it has been foundthat the species Plantago insularis found in southern Utah, Nevada,Arizona and southern California works particularly well. The plant isharvested by cutting it at mid-stem and then dried. Drying can beaccomplished naturally on drying racks or tables exposed to solar energyor can be accomplished in conventional agricultural dryers. Oneeffective method is to place the harvested plant on sheets of blackplastic exposed directly to solar radiation. In normal summer conditionsin the South West, drying can be accomplished in about three days.

After the plant is dried, it is ground to a fine powder. Grinding can beaccomplished in any number of conventional ways, by using a ballgrinder, an auger or screening techniques. Preferably the dried plant isground to approximately the consistency of ordinary baking flour whichis about mesh 150-200. Some inert fillers may be added at this time ifdesired if additional bulk is required. Typical fillers might be sugar,organic ground material such as seed husk, leaves and stems. The soilconditioner product is now ready for application.

The area to be treated typically would be an athletic playing surfacesuch as the base path of a baseball diamond. These areas are subject toheavy use and in periods of rain must have the ability to quickly absorband disperse the moisture. Accordingly, the area to be treated isrototilled or otherwise tilled by hand to loosen the soil. Thereafer,the soil conditioner as prepared above is spread over the surface of thearea typically to a depth of about two to four inches. The depth ofapplication will vary with the nature of the soil. Soils having a highclay content may require additional amounts of conditioner. Theconditioner is then worked into the soil by raking and tilling orharrowing to approximately two to eight inches depth. Preferably, theconditioner is worked until it is uniformly dispersed through the soillayer.

Thereafter, deep watering is applied. For example, approximately teninches of water should be applied to the soil surface. After watering,the water is allowed to fully permeate the soil. Normally, underordinary dry conditions, the area is allowed to set for a day or so.After the water has been allowed to permeate the soil, the surface iscompacted by rolling with a pneumatic or heavy-weighted steel facedroller. At this point, the surface is ready for play.

If the soil surface is to support a ground cover, an appropriatetime-released fertilizer can be applied at the time the soil conditioneris added.

The soil conditioner of the present invention works well for almost anyapplication where a reduction of compaction, aeration, uniformity ofsurface and better moisture absorption and retention is required. Asmentioned above, athletic fields such as baseball diamonds and golfcourses are particularly good applications for the soil conditioningmethod and product of the present invention. Other similar applicationsinclude race tracks, football and soccer fields, clay tennis courts,highway berms and embankments.

In order to test the effectiveness of the present product and process,the process was applied to baseball diamonds base paths and was provenvery effective. The soil conditioner of the present invention provides abasically constant playing surface which is particularly important atthe professional athletic level. Preliminary tests indicate that thesoil conditioner is effective for a long period of time and even underheavy playing conditions, may last for as many as two years. Maintenancecosts are reduced as preparation of the field, such as dragging is madeeasier because of the uniformity and condition of the surface. Further,playing fields are ready for play in a shorter time after heavy rains ascompared with untreated fields or fields treated with other methods. Thesoil conditioner of the present invention appears to have the ability to"pull" the moisture from the surface into the soil and disperse andretain the moisture. Therefore, surface accumulation of water isminimized. In actual tests at the San Francisco Giants minor league campat Casa Grande, Arizona, a treated field was compared with an untreatedfield after unusually heavy spring rains. The treated field was readyfor play within 15 hours after the rains, whereas, the adjacentuntreated field was unplayable for a period of at least 48 hours. Thesurface of the treated field was uniform and firm while the untreatedadjacent field was "goey" and slick and not playable.

While the Plantago insularis species is particularly adaptable, otherspecies within the family may be used. These include Plantago ovata,Plantago purshii, and Plantago fastigiata.

Having described in detail the preferred embodiments of my method fortreating soil and the product, a person skilled in the art will be ableto make various changes, alterations and modifications while continuingto practice the inventive principles described herein. It is thereforeintended that all such modifications and alterations be covered as theyare embraced within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A .Iadd.conditioned soil .Iaddend.product .Iadd.comprising soil and dried and ground plants from the Plantago family, made by the process .Iaddend.for conditioning soils comprising . .the.!. .Iadd.mixing .Iaddend.dried and ground plants from the Plantago family .Iadd.with soil.Iaddend..
 2. The . .soil conditioner.!. .Iadd.product .Iaddend.of claim 1 wherein said plant is Plantago insularis.
 3. . .The.!. .Iadd.A .Iaddend.method of treating soil for better water dispersion and retention comprising:(a) tilling the area to be treated; (b) applying a surface layer of a soil conditioner comprising . .the.!. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.dried, ground plant of the Plantago family; (c) tilling the conditioner into the soil; (d) deep watering; (e) allowing to dry; and (f) packing the surface.
 4. The method of treating the soil set forth in claim 3 further including application of a time-release fertilizer to the surface prior to tilling the conditioner into the soil.
 5. The method of claim 3 wherein said soil conditioner comprises . .the.!. ground seed, plants and part of the stem of the species Plantago insularis. .Iadd.
 6. The conditioned soil product of claim 1 in which the soil comprises at least a portion of an athletic field. .Iaddend..Iadd.7. The conditioned soil product of claim 6 wherein the soil mixed with the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family comprises a layer of soil of about 2 to 4 inches in depth. .Iaddend..Iadd.8. The product of claim 1 wherein the process further includes the step of deep watering the mixed dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.9. The product of claim 8 wherein the process further includes the step of compacting the mixed dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.10. The product of claim 1 wherein the process further includes the step of compacting the mixed dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.11. The product of claim 1 wherein the process of mixing the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family with the soil comprises the steps of:spreading the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family over the surface of an area containing the soil to be conditioned; and working the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family into the soil to be conditioned. .Iaddend..Iadd.12. The product of claim 11 wherein the process further includes the step of compacting the mixture of dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.13. The conditioned soil product of claim 11 comprising a layer of soil mixed with the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family of about 2 to 4 inches in depth. .Iaddend..Iadd.14. The conditioned soil product of claim 13 in which the soil comprises at least a portion of an athletic field. .Iaddend..Iadd.15. The conditioned soil product of claim 11 in which the soil comprises at least a portion of an athletic field. .Iaddend..Iadd.16. The product of claim 1 wherein the process further includes the step of deep watering the mixture of dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.17. The product of claim 16 wherein the process further includes the step of compacting the mixture of dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.18. The product of claim 17 wherein the step of compacting the mixture of dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil is effected after the deep watering step. .Iaddend..Iadd.19. The product of claim 1 wherein the process step of mixing the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family with the soil comprises the step of uniformly dispersing the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family throughout the soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.20. A process for conditioning soil comprising mixing dried and ground plants from the Plantago family with the soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.21. The process of claim 20 further including the step of deep watering the mixture of dried and round plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.22. The process of claim 21 further including the step of compacting the mixture of dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.23. The process of claim 20 further including the step of compacting the mixture of dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.24. The process of claim 20 wherein the step of mixing the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family with the soil to be conditioned comprises the steps of:spreading the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family over the surface of an area containing the soil to be conditioned; and working the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family into the soil to be conditioned. .Iadd.25. The process of claim 24 further including the step of deep watering the mixture of dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.26. The process of claim 25 further including the step of compacting the mixture of dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.27. The process of claim 26 further wherein the step of compacting the mixture of dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil is effected after the deep watering step. .Iaddend..Iadd.28. The process of claim 24 further including the step of compacting the mixture of dried and ground plants from the Plantago family and soil. .Iaddend..Iadd.29. The process of claim 20 wherein the step of mixing the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family with the soil to be conditioned comprises the step of uniformly dispersing the dried and ground plants from the Plantago family throughout the soil. .Iaddend. 